New Bengals defensive end Boye Mafe answers the biggest question fans have about him after signing $60 million contract
Boye Mafe is looking to unlock his potential with the Bengals.
Defensive end Boye Mafe officially became the highest-paid free agent signing in Cincinnati Bengals history in terms of raw Average Annual Value. He put pen-to-paper on his three-year, $60 million contract Thursday morning, setting himself up to make an average of $20 million over the next three years.
Cincinnati is giving Mafe $27 million in 2026 alone for one purpose: Get to the quarterback. The Bengals need pass rushing production with Trey Hendrickson set to now provide that for the Baltimore Ravens.
Production just happens to be the biggest question surrounding Mafe as he enters a new chapter in his career, and it’s not a question he’s hiding from.
Boye Mafe explains how he can turn more pressures into sacks
Mafe was able to register nine sacks in 2023, the only year he started as many games as he played in (16 each) in his four seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. He’s since posted eight sacks over the course of the last two years, including just two last year.
$20 million per year for a DE fresh off a two-sack year may raise some eyebrows, but Mafe was still winning against offensive tackles. He had the eighth-highest win rate for EDGEs according to ESPN and Next Gen Stats. Pro Football Focus had winning 17.4% of the time against true pass sets, which would’ve ranked second on the Bengals behind Hendrickson last year.
Converting that win rate into more sacks, with more snaps, is the goal Mafe and his new coaches will be gunning for this offseason.
“A lot of people question about me is the production,” Mafe said. “And that’s a big question. I understand that. But the thing is, the coaches saw the film. They saw what I can do on the field. They want to tap in and make sure that the pressure rate and all that turns into sacks. So with them, with me buying in and getting that chance to really dig into that and really get into the nitty gritty of what I need to do to improve my improve my game.
“I feel like that untapped potential can really show itself.”
The process of tapping that potential is the bet Cincinnati is making on the 26-year old fresh off posting Seattle’s best win rate in a dominant Super Bowl LX victory.
“The game is fast,” Mafe said. “People don’t realize how many and how small the details are into it. You can be one step away from 10 sacks, or you could be, you know, one step too short. And so just understanding how to make that process faster, shorten my steps, how quick I can get to the quarterback, how much faster I can get there, and no matter how small the details are, but those details will make a difference.”
Returning to that 2023 sack number or better would make all the difference in the world.
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